A 


S.  R.  A.— B.  S.  66 


EPOS1TORY 

United  States-  DepaiTment  of  Agriculture 


Issued  May.  1927. 


Bureau  of  Biological  Survey 
SERVICE  AND  REGULATORY  ANNOUNCEMENTS 


TEXT  OF  FEDERAL  LAWS  AND  REGULATIONS  RELATING 
TO  GAME  AND  BIRDS 

The  full  text  of  the  laws  and  regulations  which  follow  was  published  prior 
to  1924  in  the  annual  Farmers'  Bulletin  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture  on  the  game  laws.  Summarized  information  concerning  open 
seasons  on  game,  licenses,  bag  limits,  possession,  sale,  interstate  transportation, 
and  provisions  relating  to  imported  game  and  game  raised  in  captivity  is  pub- 
lished annually  in  the  bulletin  above  mentioned. 


CONVENTION  BETWEEN  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN 
FOR  THE  PROTECTION  OF  MIGRATORY  BIRDS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  AND  CANADA  a 

[39  Stat.  1702] 

BY  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

A   PROCLAMATION 

Whereas  a  convention  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  for  the  protection  of  migratory  birds 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada  was  concluded  and  signed  by  their  respective 
plenipotentiaries  at  Washington  on  the  16th  day  of  August,  1916,  the  original 
of  which  convention  is  word  for  word  as  follows : 

Whereas  many  species  of  birds  in  the  course  of  their  annual  migrations 
traverse  certain  parts  of  the  United  States  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada ;  and; 

Whereas  many  of  these  species  are  of  great  value  as  a  source  of  food  or 
in  destroying  insects  which  are  injurious  to  forests  and  forage  plants  on  the 
public  domain,  as  well  as  to  agricultural  crops,  in  both  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  but  are  nevertheless  in  danger  of  extermination  through  lack  of 
adequate  protection  during  the  nesting  season  or  while  on  their  way  to  and- 
from  their  breeding  grounds ; 

The  United  States  of  America  and  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  United. 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  of  the  British  Dominions  beyond 
the  Seas,  Emperor  of  India,  being  desirous  of  saving  from  indiscriminate 
slaughter  and  of  insuring  the  preservation  of  such  migratorj  birds  as  are 
either   useful    to    man    or    harmless,    have    resolved    to    adopt    some    uniform 

1  Signed  at  Washington,  Aug.  16,  1916  ;  ratification  advised  by-  the  Senate  Aug.  29,  rati- 
fied by  the  President  Sept.  1,  and  by  Great  Britain  Oct.  20  ;  ratifications  exchanged  Dec. 
7  ;  proclaimed  Doc.  8,  1916.  Constitutionality  of  the  treaty  and  act  of  July  3,  1918,  sus- 
tained by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  in  a  decision  rendered  Apr.  19,  1920,  in  the 
case  of  the  State  of  Missouri  v.  Ray  P.  Holland  (252  U.  S.  416)  ;  see  also  U.  S.  v. 
Lumpkin   (276  Fed.  580). 

Canada,  by  an  act  of  Parliament  approved  Aug.  29,  1917,  gave  full  effect  to  this  con- 
vention and  promulgated  regulations  thereunder  May  11,  1918.  The  validity  of  the  act 
of  the  Dominion  Parliament  was  upheld  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Prince  Edward  Island  in- 
a  decision  (Michaelmas  term,  1920)  rendered  in  the  case  of  The  King  v.  Russell  C.  Clark. 
For  full  text  of  the  Canadian  migratory-bird  treaty  act  and  regulations,  communicate  with* 
the  Commissioner  of  Canadian  National  Parks,  Ottawa,  Ontario. 

41721—27 


Z  BUREAU    OF   BIOLOGICAL   SURVEY  [S.  R.  A. 

system  of  protection  which  shall  effectively  accomplish  such  objects  and  to 
the  end  of  concluding  a  convention  for  this  purpose  have  appointed  as  their 
respective  plenipotentiaries : 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Robert  Lansing,  Secretary 
of  State  of  the  United  States ;  and 

His  Britannic  Majesty,  the  Right  Hon.  Sir  Cecil  Arthur  Spring  Rice,  G.  C. 
V.  O.,  K.  C.  M.  G.,  etc.,  His  Majesty's  ambassador  extraordinary  and  pleni- 
potentiary at  Washington ; 

Who,  after  having  communicated  to  each  other  their  respective  full  powers, 
which  were  found  to  be  in  due  and  proper  form,  have  agreed  to  and  adopted 
the  following  articles : 

ARTICLE    I 

The  high  contracting  powers  declare  that  the  migratory  birds  included  in  the 
terms  of  this  convention  shall  be  as  follows : 

1.  Migratory  game  birds : 

(a)  Anatidae  or  waterfowl,  including  brant,  wild  ducks,  geese,  and  swans. 
(&)   Gruidae  or  cranes,  including  little  brown,  sandhill,  and  whooping  cranes. 

(c)  Rallidae  or  rails,  including  coots,  gallinules  and  sora  and  other  rails. 

(d)  Limicolae  or  shorebirds,  including  avocets,  curlew,  dowitchers,  godwits, 
knots,  oyster  catchers,  phalaropes,  plovers,  sandpipers,  snipe,  stilts,  surf  birds, 
turnstones,  willet,  woodcock,  and  yellowlegs. 

(e)  Columbidae  or  pigeons,  including  doves  and  wild  pigeons. 

2.  Migratory  insectivorous  birds :  Bobolinks,  catbirds,  chickadees,  cuckoos, 
flickers,  flycatchers,  grosbeaks,  humming  birds,  kinglets,  martins,  meadowlarks, 
nighthawks  or  bull-bats,  nut-hatches,  orioles,  robins,  shrikes,  swallows,  swifts, 
tanagers,  titmice,  thrushes,  vireos,  warblers,  wax-wings,  whippoorwills,  wood- 
peckers, and  wrens,  and  all  other  perching  birds  which  feed  entirely  or  chiefly 
on  insects. 

3.  Other  migratory  nongame  birds :  Auks,  auklets,  bitterns,  fulmars,  gannets, 
grebes,  guillemots,  gulls,  herons,  jaegers,  loons,  murres,  petrels,  puffins,  shear- 
waters, and  terns. 

ARTICLE!   II 

The  high  contracting  powers  agree  that,  as  an  effective  means  of  preserving 
migratory  birds,  there  shall  be  established  the  following  close  seasons  during 
which  no  hunting  shall  be  done  except  for  scientific  or  propagating  purposes 
under  permits  issued  by  proper  authorities. 

1.  The  close  season  on  migratory  game  birds  shall  be  between  March  10  and 
September  1,  except  that  the  close  season  on  the  Limicolae  or  shorebirds  in  the 
Maritime  Provinces  of  Canada  and  in  those  States  of  the  United  States  border- 
ing on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  which  are  situated  wholly  or  in  part  north  of  Chesa- 
peake Bay  shall  be  between  February  1  and  August  15,  and  that  Indians  may 
take  at  any  time  scoters  for  food  but  not  for  sale.  The  season  for  hunting 
shall  be  further  restricted  to  such  period  not  exceeding  three  and  one-half 
months  as  the  high  contracting  powers  may  severally  deem  appropriate  and 
define  by  law  or  regulation. 

2.  The  close  season  on  migratory  insectivorous  birds  shall  continue  through- 
out the  year. 

3.  The  close  season  on  other  migratory  nongame  birds  shall  continue  through- 
out the  year,  except  that  Eskimos  and  Indians  may  take  at  any  season  auks, 
auklets,  guillemots,  murres,  and  puffins,  and  their  eggs,  for  food  and  their 
skins  for  clothing,  but  the  birds  and  eggs  so  taken  shall  not  be  sold  or  offered 
for  sale. 

ARTICLE!   III 

The  high  contracting  powers  agree  that  during  the  period  of  10  years  next 
following  the  going  into  effect  of  this  convention  there  shall  be  a  continuous 
close  season  on  the  following  migratory  game  birds,  to  wit: 

Band-tailed  pigeons,  little  brown,  sandhill,  and  whooping  cranes,  swans,  cur- 
lew, and  all  shorebirds  (except  the  black-breasted  and  golden  plover,  Wilson  or 
jack  snipe,  woodcock,  and  the  greater  and  lesser  yellowlegs)  ;  provided  that 
during  such  10  years  the  close  seasons  on  cranes,  swans,  and  curlew  in  the 
Province  of  British  Columbia  shall  be  made  by  the  proper  authorities  of  that 
Province  within  the  general  dates  and  limitations  elsewhere  prescribed  in  this 
convention  for  the  respective  groups  to  which  these  birds  belong. 


B.  S.  66]  LAWS   RELATING   TO    GAME   AND   BIRDS 


ARTICLE    IV 


The  high  contracting  powers  agree  that  special  protection  shall  be  given  the 
wood  duck  and  the  eider  duck  either  (1)  by  a  close  season  extending  over  a 
period  of  at  least  5  years,  or  (2)  by  the  establishment  of  refuges,  or  (3)  by 
such  other  regulations  as  may  be  deemed  appropriate. 

ARTICLE   V 

The  taking  of  nests  or  eggs  of  migratory  game  or  insectivorous  or  nongame 
birds  shall  be  prohibited,  except  for  scientific  or  propagating  purposes  under 
such  laws  or  regulations  as  the  high  contracting  powers  may  severally  deem 
appropriate. 

ARTICLE  VI 

The  high  contracting  powers  agree  that  the  shipment  or  export  of  migratory 
birds  or  their  eggs  from  any  State  or  Province,  during  the  continuance  of  the 
close  season  in  such  State  or  Province,  shall  be  prohibited  except  for  scientific 
or  propagating  purposes,  and  the  international  traffic  in  any  birds  or  eggs 
at  such  time  captured,  killed,  taken,  or  shipped  at  any  time  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  the  State  or  Province  in  which  the  same  were  captured,  killed,  taken, 
or  shipped  shall  be  likewise  prohibited.  Every  package  containing  migratory 
birds  or  any  parts  thereof  or  any  eggs  of  migratory  birds  transported,  or 
offered  for  transportation  from  the  United  States  into  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
or  from  the  Dominion  of  Canada  into  the  United  States,  shall  have  the  name 
and  address  of  the  shipper  and  an  accurate  statement  of  the  contents  clearly 
marked  on  the  outside  of  such  package. 

ARTICLE  VII 

Permits  to  kill  any  of  the  above-named  birds,  which  under  extraordinary 
conditions  may  become  seriously  injurious  to  the  agricultural  or  other  interests 
in  any  particular  community,  may  be  issued  by  the  proper  authorities  of  the 
high  contracting  powers  under  suitable  regulations  prescribed  therefor  by 
them,  respectively,  but  such  permits  shall  lapse  or  may  be  canceled  at  any 
time  when,  in  the  opinion  of  said  authorities,  the  particular  exigency  has 
passed,  and  no  birds  killed  under  this  article  shall  be  shipped,  sold,  or  offered 
for  sale. 

ARTICLE    VIII 

The  high  contracting  powers  agree  themselves  to  take,  or  propose  to  their 
respective  appropriate  law-making  bodies,  the  necessary  measures  for  insuring 
the  execution  of  the  present  convention. 

ARTICLE   IX 

The  present  convention  shall  be  ratified  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate  thereof,  and  by 
His  Britannic  Majesty.  The  ratifications  shall  be  exchanged  at  Washington  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  the  convention  shall  take  effect  on  the  date  of  the  exchange 
of  the  ratifications.  It  shall  remain  in  force  for  15  years,  and  in  the  event  of 
neither  of  the  high  contracting  powers  having  given  notification  12  months 
before  the  expiration  of  said  period  of  15  years  of  its  intention  of  terminating 
its  operation,  the  convention  shall  continue  to  remain  in  force  for  1  year  and  so 
on  from  year  to  year. 

In  faith  whereof,  the  respective  plenipotentiaries  have  signed  the  present  con- 
vention in  duplicate  and  have  hereunto  affixed  their  seals. 

Done  at  Washington  this  16th  day  of  August,  1916. 

[seal.]  Robeet  Lansing. 

[seal.]  Cecil  Spring  Rice. 

And  whereas  the  said  convention  has  been  duly  ratified  on  both  parts,  and 
the  ratifications  of  the  two  Governments  were  exchanged  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington on  the  7th  day  of  December,  1916 : 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  known  that  I,  Woodrow  Wilson,  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  have  caused  the  said  convention  to  be  made  public,  to  the 
end  that  the  same  and  every  article  and  clause  thereof  may  be  observed  and 
fulfilled  with  good  faith  by  the  United  States  and  the  citizens  thereof. 


4  BUREAU    OF   BIOLOGICAL   SURVEY  [S.  R.  A. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused  the  seal  of 
the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington  this  8th  day  of  December  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1916,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  141st. 
[seal.]  Woodrow  Wilson. 

By  the  President : 
Robert  Lansing, 

Secretary  of  State. 


MIGRATORY-BIRD  TREATY  ACT 

[Approved  July  3,  1918.     40  Stat.  755] 

An  Act  to  give  effect  to  the  convention  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  for 
the  protection  of  migratory  birds  concluded  at  Washington,  August  16,  1916,  and  for 

other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  this  act  shall  be  known  by  the  short 
title  of  the  "  Migratory  Bird  Treaty  Act." 

Sec.  2.  That  unless  and  except  as  permitted  by  regulations  made  as  herein- 
after provided,  it  shall  be  unlawful  to  hunt,  take,  capture,  kill,  attempt  to  take, 
capture  or  kill,  possess,  offer  for  sale,  sell,  offer  to  purchase,  purchase,  deliver 
for  shipment,  ship,  cause  to  be  shipped,  deliver  for  transportation,  transport, 
cause  to  be  transported,  carry  or  cause  to  be  carried  by  any  means  whatever, 
receive  for  shipment,  transportation  or  carriage,  or  export,  at  any  time  or  in 
any  manner,  any  migratory  bird,  included  in  the  terms  of  the  convention 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  for  the  protection  of  migratory 
birds  concluded  August  16,  1916,  or  any  part,  nest,  or  egg  of  any  such  bird. 

Sec.  3.  That,  subject  to  the  provisions  and  in  order  to  carry  out  the  purposes 
of  the  convention,  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  is  authorized  and  directed,  from 
time  to  time,  having  due  regard  to  the  zones  of  temperature  and  to  the  distri- 
bution, abundance,  economic  value,  breeding  habits,  and  times  and  lines  of 
migratory  flight  of  such  birds,  to  determine  when,  to  what  extent,  if  at  all, 
and  by  what  means,  it  is  compatible  with  the  terms  of  the  convention  to  allow 
hunting,  taking,  capture,  killing,  possession,  sale,  purchase,  shipment,  trans- 
portation, carriage,  or  export  of  any  such  bird,  or  any  part,  nest,  or  egg  thereof, 
and  to  adopt  suitable  regulations  permitting  and  governing  the  same,  in  ac- 
cordance with  such  determinations,  which  regulations  shall  become  effective 
when  approved  by  the  President. 

Sec  4.  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  to  ship,  transport,  or  carry,  by  any  means 
whatever,  from  one  State,  Territory,  or  District  to  or  through  another  State, 
Territory,  or  District,  or  to  or  through  a  foreign  country,  any  bird,  or  any 
part,  nest,  or  egg  thereof,  captured,  killed,  taken,  shipped,  transported,  or 
carried  at  any  time  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  State,  Territory,  or  District  in 
which  it  was  captured,  killed,  or  taken,  or  from  which  it  was  shipped,  trans- 
ported, or  carried.  It  shall  be  unlawful  to  import  any  bird,  or  any  part,  nest, 
or  egg  thereof,  captured,  killed,  taken,  shipped,  transported,  or  carried  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  any  Province  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  in  which  the 
same  was  captured,  killed,  or  taken,  or  from  which  it  was  shipped,  transported, 
or  carried. 

Sec.  5.  That  any  employee  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  authorized  by 
the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  have 
power,  without  warrant,  to  arrest  any  person  committing  a  violation  of  this  act 
in  his  presence  or  view  and  to  take  such  person  immediately  for  examination 
or  trial  before  an  officer  or  court  of  competent  jurisdiction;  shall  have  power 
to  execute  any  warrant  or  other  process  issued  by  an  officer  or  court  of  com- 
petent jurisdiction  for  the  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  this  act ;  and  shall 
have  authority,  with  a  search  warrant,  to  search  any  place.  The  several  judges 
of  the  courts  established  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  United 
States  commissioners  may,  within  their  respective  jurisdictions,  upon  proper 
oath  or  affirmation  showing  probable  cause,  issue  warrants  in  all  such  cases. 
All  birds,  or  parts,  nests,  or  eggs  thereof,  captured,  killed,  taken,  shipped, 
transported,  carried,  or  possessed  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  or  of 
any  regulations  made  pursuant  thereto,  shall,  when  found,  be  seized  by  any 


B.  S.  66]  LAWS   RELATING   TO   GAME   AND   BIRDS  5 

such  employee,  or  by  any  marshal  or  deputy  marshal,  and,  upon  conviction  of 
the  offender  or  upon  judgment  of  a  court  of  the  United  States  that  the  same 
were  captured,  killed,  taken,  shipped,  transported,  carried,  or  possessed  con- 
trary to  the  provisions  of  this  act  or  of  any  regulation  made  pursuant  thereto, 
shall  be  forfeited  to  the  United  States  and  disposed  of  as  directed  by  the 
court  having  jurisdiction. 

Sec.  6.  That  any  person,  association,  partnership,  or  corporation  who  shall 
violate  any  of  the  provisions  of  said  convention  or  of  this  act,  or  who  shall 
violate  or  fail  to  comply  with  any  regulation  made  pursuant  to  this  act.  shall 
be  deemed  guilty  of  misdemeanor  and  upon  conviction  thereof  shall  bo  fined 
not  more  than  $500  or  be  imprisoned  not  more  than  six  months,  or  both. 

Sec.  7.  That  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  the  several 
States  and  Territories  from  making  or  enforcing  laws  or  regulations  not  in- 
consistent with  the  provisions  of  said  convention  or  of  this  act,  or  from 
making  or  enforcing  laws  or  regulations  which  shall  give  further  protection  to 
migratory  birds,  their  nests,  and  eggs,  if  such  laws  or  regulations  do  not 
extend  the  open  seasons  for  such  birds  beyond  the  dates  approved  by  the 
President  in  accordance  with  section  three  of  this  act. 

Sec.  8.  That  until  the  adoption  and  approval,  pursuant  to  section  3  of  this 
act,  of  regulations  dealing  with  migratory  birds  and  their  nests  and  eggs,  such 
migratory  birds  and  their  nests  and  eggs  as  are  intended  and  used  exclusively 
for  scientific  or  propagating  purposes  may  be  taken,  captured,  killed,  possessed, 
sold,  purchased,  shipped,  and  transported  for  such  scientific  or  propagating 
purposes  if  and  to  the  extent  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  State,  Terri- 
tory, or  District  in  which  they  are  taken,  captured,  killed,  possessed,  sold,  or 
purchased,  or  in  or  from  which  they  are  shipped  or  transported  if  the  packages 
containing  the  dead  bodies  or  the  nests  or  eggs  of  such  birds  when  shipped  and 
transported  shall  be  marked  on  the  outside  thereof  so  as  accurately  and  clearly 
to  show  the  name  and  address  of  the  shipper  and  the  contents  of  the  package. 

Sec.  9.  That  the  unexpended  balances  of  any  sums  appropriated  by  the  agri- 
cultural appropriation  acts  for  the  fiscal  years  1917  and  1918,  for  enforcing 
the  provisions  of  the  act  approved  March  4,  1913,  relating  to  the  protection  of 
migratory  game  and  insectivorous  birds,  are  hereby  reappropriated  and  made 
available  until  expended  for  the  expenses  of  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions 
of  this  act  and  regulations  made  pursuant  thereto,  including  the  payment  of 
such  rent,  and  the  employment  of  such  persons  and  means,  as  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  may  deem  necessary,  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  elsewhere, 
cooperation  with  local  authorities  in  the  protection  of  migratory  birds,  and 
necessary  investigations  connected  therewith :  Provided,  That  no  person  who 
is  subject  to  the  draft  for  service  in  the  Army  or  Navy  shall  be  exempted  or 
excused  from  such  service  by  reason  of  his  employment  under  this  act. 

Sec.  10.  That  if  any  clause,  sentence,  paragraph,  or  part  of  this  act  shall,  for 
any  reason,  be  adjudged  by  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  to  be  invalid, 
such  judgment  shall  not  affect,  impair,  or  invalidate  the  remainder  thereof,  but 
shall  be  confined  in  its  operation  to  the  clause,  sentence,  paragraph,  or  part 
thereof  directly  involved  in  the  controversy  in  which  such  judgment  shall  have 
been  rendered. 

Sec.  11.  That  all  acts  or  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this 
act  are  hereby  repealed. 

Sec  12.  Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  the  breeding  of 
migratory  game  birds  on  farms  and  preserves  and  the  sale  of  birds  so  bred  un- 
der proper  regulation  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  food  supply. 

Sec.  13.  That  this  act  shall  become  effective  immediately  upon  its  passage 
and  approval. 

MIGRATORY-BIRD  TREATY-ACT  REGULATIONS 

[As  approved  and  promulgated  by  the  President,  July  31,  1918,  and  amended  October  25, 
^l8V^H]yT28*  1919>  Jnly  9-  1920,  March  3,  1921,  May  17.  1921,  March  8,  1922,  April 
10,  1923.  June  11,  1923,  April  11,  1924,  July  2,  1924.  June  22,  1925,  March  8,  1926, 
April  22,  1926.  June  18.  1926.  and  April  4  and  21,  1927.] 

Regulation  1. — Definitions  of  Migratory  Birds 

Migratory  birds,  included  in  the  terms  of  the  convention  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  for  the  protection  of  migratory  birds,  concluded 
August  16,  1916,  are  as  follows : 


6  BUREAU   OF   BIOLOGICAL   SURVEY  [S.  R.  A. 

1.  Migratory  game  birds: 

(a)  Anatidae,  or  waterfowl,  including  brant,  wild  ducks,  geese,  and  swans. 
(&)   Gruidae,  or  cranes,  including  little  brown,  sandhill,  and  whooping  cranes. 

(c)  Rallidae,  or  rails,  including  coots,  gallinules,  and  sora  and  other  rails. 

(d)  Limicolae,  or  shorebirds,  including  avocets,  curlews,  dowitchers,  godwits, 
knots,  oyster  catchers,  phalaropes,  plovers,  sandpipers,  snipe,  stilts,  surf  birds, 
turnstones,  willet,  woodcock,  and  yellowlegs. 

(e)  Columbidae,  or  pigeons,  including  doves  and  wild  pigeons. 

2.  Migratory  insectivorous  bi7'ds:  Cuckoos;  flickers  and  other  woodpeckers; 
nighthawks  or  bull-bats  and  whip-poor-wills ;  swifts ;  hummingbirds ;  flycatch- 
ers ;  bobolinks,  meadowlarks,  and  orioles ;  grosbeaks ;  tanagers ;  martins  and 
other  swallows  ;  waxwings  ;  shrikes ;  vireos ;  warblers ;  pipits ;  catbirds  and 
brown  thrashers;  wrens;  brown  creepers;  nuthatches;  chickadees  and  titmice; 
kinglets  and  gnat  catchers;  robins  and  other  thrushes;  and  all  other  perching 
birds  which  feed  entirely  or  chiefly  on  insects. 

3.  Other  migratory  nongame  birds:  Auks,  auklets,  bitterns,  fulmars,  gannets, 
grebes,  guillemots,  gulls,  herons,  jaegers,  loons,  murres,  petrels,  puffins,  shear- 
waters, and  terns. 

[As  amended  July  9,  1920.] 

Regulation  2. — Definitions  of  Terms 

For  the  purposes  of  these  regulations  the  following  terms  shall  be  construed, 
respectively,  to  mean — 

Secretary. — The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  of  the  United  States. 

Person. — The  plural  or  the  singular,  as  the  case  demands,  including  indi- 
viduals, associations,  partnerships,  and  corporations,  unless  the  context  other- 
wise requires. 

Take. — The  pursuit,  hunting,  capture,  or  killing  of  migratory  birds  in  the 
manner  and  by  the  means  specifically  permitted. 

Open  season. — The  time  during  which  migratory  birds  may  be  taken. 

Transport. — Shipping,  transporting,  carrying,  exporting,  receiving  or  deliver- 
ing for  shipment,  transportation,  carriage,  or  export. 

Regulation  3. — Means  by  Which  Migratory  Game  Birds  May  be  Taken 

The  migratory  game  birds  specified  in  regulation  4  hereof  may  be  taken 
during  the  open  season  with  a  gun  only,  not  larger  than  No.  10  gauge,  fired 
from  the  shoulder,  except  as  specifically  permitted  by  regulations  7,  8,  9,  and  10 
hereof;  they  may  be  taken  during  the  open  season  from  the  land  and  wTater, 
with  the  aid  of  a  dog,  the  use  of  decoys,  and  from  a  blind  or  floating  device; 
but  nothing  herein  shall  be  deemed  to  permit  the  use  of  an  airplane,  power- 
boat, sailboat,  boat  under  sail,  floating  device  towed  by  powerboat  or  sail- 
boat, or  any  sinkbox  (battery),  except  that  sinkboxes  (batteries)  may  be  used 
in  the  taking  of  waterfowl  in  coastal  sounds  and  bays  (including  Back  Bay, 
Princess  Anne  County,  State  of  Virginia)  and  other  coastal  waters  if  placed 
not  less  than  700  yards  from  the  shore  line  of  the  mainland  at  ordinary  high 
tide  and  not  less  than  700  yards  from  any  island  at  ordinary  high  tide,  and  not 
less  than  700  yards  from  any  other  sinkbox  (battery)  ;  and  nothing  herein  shall 
be  deemed  to  permit  the  use  of  an  airplane,  or  a  powerboat,  sailboat,  or  other 
floating  device  for  the  purpose  of  concentrating,  driving,  rallying,  or  stirring 
up  migratory  waterfowl. 

[As  amended  July  28,  1919,  March  3,  1921,  May  17,  1921,  and  April  4,  1927.] 

Regulation  4. — Open  Seasons  on  and  Possession  of  Certain  Migratory  Game  Birds 

For  the  purpose  of  this  regulation,  each  period  of  time  herein  prescribed  as 
an  open  season  shall  be  construed  to  include  the  first  and  last  days  thereof. 

Waterfowl  (except  wood  duck,  eider  ducks,  and  swans),  rails,  coot,  gal- 
linules, woodcock,  Wilson  snipe  or  jacksnipe,  and  mourning  doves  may  be  taken 
each  day  from  half  an  hour  before  sunrise  to  sunset  during  the  open  seasons 
prescribed  therefor  in  this  regulation  by  the  means  and  in  the  numbers  per- 
mitted by  regulations  3  and  5  hereof,  respectively,  and  when  so  taken  may  be 
possessed  any  day  in  any  State,  Territory,  or  District  during  the  period  con- 
stituting the  open  season  where  killed  and  for  an  additional  period  of  10  days 
next  succeeding  said  open  season,  but  no  such  bird  shall  be  possessed  in  a  State, 
Territory,  or  District  at  a  time  when  such  State,  Territory,  or  District  prohibits 
the  possession  thereof. 


B.  S.  66]  LAWS   RELATING   TO    GAME   AND   BIRDS  7 

Waterfcnvl  (except  wood  duck,  eider  ducks,  mid  swans),  coot,  gallinules, 
and  Wilson  snipe  or  jacksnipe. — The  open  seasons  for  waterfowl  (except  wood 
duck,  eider  ducks,  and  swans),  coot,  gallinules,  and  Wilson  snipe  or  jacksnipe 
shall  be  as  follows  : 

In  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts  (except  in  Nantucket 
and  Dukes  Counties),  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  Michigan,  Wisconsin.  Minnesota, 
Iowa,  Missouri,  North  Dakota.  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas.  Colorado, 
Wyoming,  Montana,  Nevada,  and  that  portion  of  Idaho  comprising  the  counties 
of  Boundary.  Bonner,  Kootenai,  Benewah,  and  Shoshone  the  open  season  shall 
be  from  September  16  to  December  31 ; 

In  New  York  (except  Long  Island)  the  open  season  shall  be  from  Septem- 
ber 24  to  January  7 ; 

In  that  portion  of  Massachusetts  known  as  Nantucket  and  Dukes  Counties, 
and  in  Rhode  Island.  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Oklahoma, 
Utah,  Idaho  (except  in  the  counties  of  Boundary,  Bonner,  Kootenai,  Benewah, 
and  Shoshone),  California,  Oregon,  and  Washington  the  open  season  shall  be 
from  October  1  to  January  15 ; 

In  that  portion  of  New  York  known  as  Long  Island,  and  in  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  that  portion  of  Texas  lying  west  and  north  of  the  main  tracks 
of  the  International  &  Great  Northern  Railroad  extending  from  Laredo  to 
San  Antonio,  Austin,  and  Longview,  and  the  Texas  &  Pacific  Railroad  extend- 
ing from  Longview  to  Marshall  and  Texarkana,  and  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona 
the  open  season  shall  be  from  October  16  to  January  31 ; 

In  Maryland,  the  District  of  Columbia,  Virginia,  Kentucky.  Tennessee,  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi.  Arkansas, 
Louisiana,  and  that  portion  of  Texas  lying  east  and  south  of  the  main  tracks  of 
the  International  &  Great  Northern  Railroad  extending  from  Laredo  to  San 
Antonio,  Austin,  and  Longview,  and  the  Texas  &  Pacific  Railroad  extending 
from  Longview  to  Marshall  and  Texarkana  the  open  season  shall  be  from 
November  1  to  January  31 ;  and 

In  Alaska  the  open  season  shall  be  from  September  1  to  December  15. 

Rails  (except  coot  and  gallinules.) — The  open  season  for  sora  and  other 
rails  (except  coot  and  gallinules)  shall  be  from  September  1  to  November  30, 
except  as  follows: 

In  Louisiana  the  open  season  shall  be  from  November  1  to  January  31. 

Greater  and  lesser  yellowlegs. — There  shall  be  a  continuous  close  season  on 
greater  and  lesser  yellowlegs  until  August  16,  1929. 

Woodcock. — The  open  seasons  for  woodcock  shall  be  as  follows: 

In  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Con- 
necticut, New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  Kentucky, 
Indiana,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Illinois.  Missouri,  Iowa.  Minnesota,  North 
Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  and  Kansas  the  open  season  shall  be  from 
October  1  to  November  30;  and 

In  Delaware,  Maryland,  the  District  of  Columbia.  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Tennessee,  Arkansas, 
Louisiana,  Texas,  and  Oklahoma  the  open  season  shall  be  from  November  1  to 
December  31. 

Doves. — The  open  seasons  for  mourning  doves  shall  be  as  follows : 

In  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Minnesota,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Oklahoma, 
that  portion  of  Texas  lying  west  and  north  of  the  main  tracks  of  the  Inter- 
national &  Great  Northern  Railroad  extending  from  Laredo  to  San  Antonio, 
Austin,  and  Longview,  and  the  Texas  &  Pacific  Railroad  extending  from  Long- 
view  to  Marshall  and  Texarkana,  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Utah,  Arizona,  Cali- 
fornia, Nevada,  Idaho,  and  Oregon  the  open  season  shall  be  from  September  1 
to  December  15; 

In  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi  the  open 
season  shall  be  from  October  16  to  January  31 ; 

In  that  portion  of  Texas  lying  east  and  south  of  the  main  tracks  of  the 
International  &  Great  Northern  Railroad  extending  from  Laredo  to  San 
Antonio,  Austin,  and  Longview.  and  the  Texas  &  Pacific  Railroad  extending 
from  Longview  to  Marshall  and  Texarkana  the  open  season  shall  be  from 
November  1  to  December  31 ;  and 

In  Louisiana  the  open  season  shall  be  from  November  1  to  January  31. 

[As  amended  October  25,  1918.  July  28,  1919,  July  9,  1920,  May  17,  1921,  March  8, 
1922,  June  11,  1923,  April  11,  1924,  Julv  2,  1924,  June  22,  1925,  March  8,  1926,  April 
22,  1926.  June  18,  1926,  and  April  4  and  21  1927.] 


8  BUREAU    OF   BIOLOGICAL  SURVEY  [S.  R.  A. 

Regulation  5. — Bag  Limits  on  Certain  Migratory  Game  Birds 

A  person  may  take  in  any  one  day  during  the  open  seasons  prescribed  there- 
for in  regulation  4  not  to  exceed  the  following  numbers  of  migratory  game 
birds,  which  numbers  shall  include  all  birds  taken  by  any  other  person  who 
for  hire  accompanies  or  assists  him  in  taking  migratory  birds : 

Ducks  {except  wood  duck  and  eider  ducks). — Twenty-five  in  the  aggregate 
of  all  kinds. 

Geese. — Eight  in  the  aggregate  of  all  kinds. 

Brant. — Eight. 

Rails  and  gallinules  {except  sora  and  coot). — Twenty-five  in  the  aggregate 
of  all  kinds,  but  not  more  than  15  of  any  one  species. 

Sora. — Twenty-five. 

Coot. — Twenty-five. 

Wilson  snipe  or  jacksnipe. — Twenty. 

Woodcock. — Four. 

Doves  (mourning) . — Twenty-five. 

[As  amended  October  25,  1918,  July  28,  1919,  March  3,  1921,  March  8,  1926,  and  April 
4,  1927.] 

Regulation    6. — Shipment,    Transportation,    and    Possession    of    Certain    Migratory    Game   Birds 

Waterfowl  (except  wood  duck,  eider  ducks,  and  swans),  rails,  coot,  gal- 
linules, woodcock,  Wilson  snipe  or  jacksnipe,  and  mourning  doves  and  parts 
thereof  legally  taken  may  be  transported  in  or  out  of  the  State  where  taken 
during  the  respective  open  seasons  in  that  State,  and  may  be  imported  from 
Canada  during  the  open  season  in  the  Province  where  taken,  in  any  manner, 
but  not  more  than  the  number  thereof  that  may  be  taken  in  two  days  by  one 
person  under  these  regulations  shall  be  transported  by  one  person  in  one 
calendar  week  out  of  the  State  where  taken ;  any  such  migratory  game  birds 
or  parts  thereof  in  transit  during  the  open  season  may  continue  in  transit 
such  additional  time  immediately  succeeding  such  open  season,  not  to  exceed 
5  days,  necessary  to  deliver  the  same  to  their  destination,  and  may  be  possessed 
in  any  State,  Territory,  or  District  during  the  period  constituting  the  open 
season  where  killed,  and  for  an  additional  period  of  10  days  next  succeeding 
said  open  season;  and  any  package  in  which  migratory  game  birds  or  parts 
thereof  are  transported  shall  have  the  name  and  address  of  the  shipper  and 
of  the  consignee  and  an  accurate  statement  of  the  numbers  and  kinds  of 
birds  contained  therein  clearly  and  conspicuously  marked  on  the  outside 
thereof;  but  no  such  birds  shall  be  transported  from  any  State,  Territory, 
or  District  to  or  through  another  State,  Territory,  or  District,  or  to  or  through 
a  Province  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  State, 
Territory,  or  District,  or  Province  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  in  which  they 
were  taken  or  from  which  they  are  transported ;  nor  shall  any  such  birds 
be  transported  into  any  State,  Territory,  or  District  from  another  State,  Terri- 
tory, or  District,  or  from  any  State,  Territory,  or  District  into  any  Province 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  at  a  time  when  such  State,  Territory,  or  District, 
or  Province  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  prohibits  the  possession  or  transport- 
ing thereof. 

[As  amended  October  25,  1918,  July  9,  1920,  March  8,  1926,  and  April  4,  1927.] 

Regulation  7. — Taking  of  Certain  Migratory  Nongame  Birds  by  Eskimos  and  Indians  in  Alaska 

In  Alaska  Eskimos  and  Indians  may  take  for  the  use  of  themselves  and 

their  immediate  families,  in  any  manner  and  at  any  time,  and  possess  and 

transport   auks,   auklets,   guillemots,   murres,   and  puffins   and   their   eggs  for 
food,  and  their  skins  for  clothing. 

Regulation  8. — Permits  to  Propagate  and  Sell  Migratory  Waterfowl 

1.  A  person  may  take  in  any  manner  and  at  any  time  migratory  water- 
fowl and  their  eggs  for  propagating  purposes  when  authorized  by  a  permit 
issued  by  the  Secretary.  Waterfowl  and  their  eggs  so  taken  may  be  possessed 
by  the  permittee  and  may  be  sold  and  transported  by  him  for  propagating 
purposes  to  any  person  holding  a  permit  issued  by  the  Secretary  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  this  regulation. 


B.  S.  66]  LAWS    RELATING   TO    GAME   AND   BIRDS  9 

2.  A  person  authorized  by  a  permit  issued  by  the  Secretary  may  possess, 
buy,  sell,  and  transport  migratory  waterfowl  and  their  increase  and  eggs  in 
any  manner  and  at  any  time  for  propagating  purposes ;  and  migratory  water- 
fowl, except  the  birds  taken  under  paragraph  1  of  this  regulation,  so  possessed 
may  be  killed  by  him  at  any  time,  in  any  manner,  except  that  they  may  be 
killed  by  shooting  only  during  the  open  season  for  waterfowl  in  the  State 
where  killed,  and  the  carcasses,  with  heads  and  feet  attached  thereto,  of  the 
birds  so  killed  may  be  sold  and  transported  by  him  in  any  manner  and  at 
any  time  to  any  person  for  actual  consumption,  or  to  the  keeper  of  a  hotel, 
restaurant,  or  boarding  house,  retail  dealer  in  meat  or  game,  or  a  club,  for 
sale  or  service  to  their  patrons,  who  may  possess  such  carcasses  for  actual 
consumption  without  a  permit,  but  no  migratory  waterfowl  killed  by  shooting 
shall  be  bought  or  sold  unless  each  bird  before  attaining  the  age  of  four 
weeks  shall  have  had  removed  from  the  web  of  one  foot  a  portion  thereof  in 
the  form  of  a  V  large  enough  to  make  a  permanent,  well-defined  mark,  which 
shall  be  sufficient  to  identify  it  as  a  bird  raised  in  domestication  under  a 
permit. 

3.  Any  package  in  which  such  waterfowl  or  parts  thereof  or  their  eggs 
are  transported  shall  have  plainly  and  conspicuously  marked  on  the  outside 
thereof  the  name  and  address  of  the  permittee,  the  number  of  his  permit, 
the  name  and  address  of  the  consignee,  and  an  accurate  statement  of  the 
number  and  kinds  of  birds  or  eggs  contained  therein. 

4.  Applications  for  permits  must  be  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  must  contain  the  following  information :  Name  and 
address  of  applicant ;  place  where  the  business  is  to  be  carried  on ;  number  of 
acres  of  land  used  in  the  business  and  whether  owned  or  leased  by  the  appli- 
cant ;  number  of  each  species  of  waterfowl  in  possession  of  applicant ;  names  of 
species  and  number  of  birds  or  eggs  of  each  species  if  permission  is  asked  to 
take  waterfowl  or  their  eggs ;  and  the  particular  locality  where  it  is  desired  to 
take  such  waterfowl  or  eggs. 

5.  A  person  granted  a  permit  under  this  regulation  shall  keep  books  and 
records  which  shall  correctly  set  forth  the  total  number  of  each  species  of 
waterfowl  and  their  eggs  possessed  on  the  date  of  application  for  the  permit 
and  on  the  1st  day  of  each  January  next  following;  also  for  each  calendar 
year  during  the  life  of  the  permit  the  total  number  of  each  species  reared  and 
killed,  number  of  each  species  and  their  eggs  sold  and  transported,  manner  in 
which  such  waterfowl  and  eggs  were  transported,  name  and  address  of  each 
person  from  or  to  whom  waterfowl  and  eggs  were  purchased  or  sold,  together 
with  the  number  and  species  and  whether  sold  alive  or  dead ;  and  the  date  of 
each  transaction.  A  report  setting  forth  this  information  shall  be  annually 
furnished  the  Secretary  during  the  month  of  January  for  the  preceding  cal- 
endar year. 

6.  A  permittee  shall  at  all  reasonable  hours  allow  any  authorized  employee 
of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  to  enter  and  inspect  the 
premises  where  operations  are  being  carried  on  under  this  regulation  and  to 
inspect  the  books  and  records  of  such  permittee  relating  thereto. 

7.  A  permit  issued  under  this  regulation  shall  be  valid  until  revoked  by  the 
Secretary  unless  otherwise  specified  therein,  shall  not  be  transferable,  and 
may  be  revoked  by  the  Secretary,  if  the  permittee  violates  any  of  the  provisions 
of  the  migratory  bird  treaty  act  or  of  the  regulations  thereunder.  A  permit 
duly  revoked  by  the  Secretary  shall  be  surrendered  to  him  by  the  person  to 
whom  it  was  issued,  on  demand  of  any  employee  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  duly  authorized  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  the  migratory 
bird  treaty  act. 

8.  A  person  may  possess  and  transport  for  his  own  use,  without  a  permit, 
live  migratory  waterfowl  now  lawfully  possessed  or  hereafter  lawfully  ac- 
quired by  him,  but  he  may  not  purchase  or  sell  such  waterfowl  without  a 
permit.  A  State  or  municipal  game  farm  or  city  park  may  possess,  purchase, 
sell,  and  transport  live  migratory  waterfowl  without  a  permit,  but  no  such 
waterfowl  shall  be  purchased  from  or  sold  to  a  person  (other  than  such  State 
or  municipal  game  farm  or  city  park)  unless  he  has  a  permit.  The  feathers 
of  wild  ducks  and  wild  geese  lawfully  killed*  and  feathers  of  such  birds  seized 
and  condemned  by  Federal  or  State  game  authorities  may  be  possessed, 
bought,  sold,  and  transported,  for  use  in  making  fishing  flies,  bed  pillows, 
and  mattresses,  and  for  similar  commercial  purposes,  but  not  for  millinery  or 
ornamental  purposes. 

[As  amended  October  25,  1918,  July  9,  1920,  April  10,  1923,  and  June  11,  1923.] 


10  BUREAU    OF    BIOLOGICAL  SURVEY  [S.  R.  A. 

Regulation  9. — Permits  to  Collect  Migratory  Birds  for  Scientific  Purposes 

A  person  may  take  in  any  manner  and  at  any  time  migratory  birds  and 
their  nests  and  eggs  for  scientific  purposes  when  authorized  by  a  permit 
issued  by  the  Secretary,  which  permit  shall  be  carried  on  his  person  when  he 
is  collecting  specimens  thereunder  and  shall  be  exhibited  to  any  person  re- 
questing to  see  the  same. 

Application  for  a  permit  must  be  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  must  contain  the  following  information:  Name  and 
address  of  applicant,  his  age,  and  name  of  State,  Territory,  or  District  in 
which  specimens  are  proposed  to  be  taken,  and  the  purpose  for  which  they 
are  intended.  Each  application  shall  be  accompanied  by  certificates  from  two 
well-known  ornithologists  that  the  applicant  is  a  fit  person  to  be  intrusted 
with  a  permit. 

The  permit  may  limit  the  number  and  species  of  birds,  birds'  nests  or  eggs 
tnat  may  be  collected  thereunder,  and  may  authorize  the  holder  thereof  to 
possess,  buy,  sell,  exchange,  and  transport  in  any  manner  and  at  any  time 
migratory  birds,  parts  thereof,  and  their  nests  and  eggs  for  scientific  purposes ; 
or  it  may  limit  the  holder  to  one  or  more  of  these  privileges.  Public  museums, 
zoological  parks  and  societies,  and  public  scientific  and  educational  institu- 
tions may  possess,  buy,  sell,  exchange,  and  transport  in  any  manner  and  at 
any  time  migratory  birds  and  parts  thereof  and  their  nests  and  eggs  for 
scientific  purposes  without  a  permit,  but  no  specimens  shall  be  taken  without 
a  permit.  The  plumage  and  skins  of  migratory  game  birds  legally  taken  may 
be  possessed  and  transported  by  a  person  without  a  permit. 

A  taxidermist,  when  authorized  by  a  permit  issued  by  the  Secretary,  may 
possess,  buy,  sell,  exchange,  and  transport  in  any  manner  and  at  any  time 
migratory  birds  and  parts  thereof  legally  taken,  or  he  may  be  limited  to  one 
or  more  of  these  privileges. 

Each  permit  shall  be  valid  until  revoked  by  the  Secretary  unless  otherwise 
specified  therein,  shall  not  be  transferable,  and  shall  be  revocable  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Secretary.  A  permit  duly  revoked  by  the  Secretary  shall  be 
surrendered  to  him  by  the  person  to  whom  it  was  issued,  on  demand  of  any 
employee  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  duly  authorized 
to  enforce  the  provisions  of  the  migratory  bird  treaty  act.  A  person  holding 
a  permit  shall  report  annually  to  the  Secretary  on  or  before  the  10th  day  of 
January  during  the  life  of  the  permit  the  number  of  skins,  nests,  or  eggs  of 
each  species  collected,  bought,  sold,  exchanged,  or  transported  during  the 
preceding  calendar  year. 

Every  package  in  which  migratory  birds  or  their  nests  or  eggs  are  trans- 
ported shall  have  clearly  and  conspicuously  marked  on  the  outside  thereof  the 
name  and  address  of  the  sender,  the  number  of  the  permit  in  every  case 
when  a  permit  is  required,  the  name  and  address  of  the  consignee,  a  state- 
ment that  it  contains  specimens  of  birds,  their  nests,  or  eggs  for  scientific 
purposes,  and,  whenever  such  a  package  is  transported  or  offered  for  trans- 
portation from  the  Dominion  of  Canada  into  the  United  States  or  from  the 
United  States  into  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  an  accurate  statement  of  the 
contents. 

[As  amended  October  25,  1918,  March  3,  1921,  and  June  11,  1923.] 

Regulation  10. — Permits  to  Kill  Migratory  Birds  Injurious  to  Property 

When  information  is  furnished  the  Secretary  that  any  species  of  migratory 
bird  has  become,  under  extraordinary  conditions,  seriously  injurious  to  agricul- 
ture or  other  interests  in  any  particular  community,  an  investigation  will  be 
made  to  determine  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  injury,  whether  the  birds 
alleged  to  be  doing  the  damage  should  be  killed,  and,  if  so,  during  what  times 
and  by  what  means.  Upon  his  determination  an  appropriate  order  will  be 
made. 

Regulation  11.— State  Laws  for  the  Protection  of  Migratory  Birds 

Nothing  in  these  regulations  shall  be  construed  to  permit  the  taking,  posses- 
sion, sale,  purchase,  or  transportation  of  migratory  birds,  their  nests,  and  eggs 
contrary  to  the  laws  and  regulations  of  any  State,  or  Territory,  or  District 
made  for  the  purpose  of  giving  further  protection  to  migratory  birds,  their 
nests,  and  eggs  when  such  laws  and  regulations  are  not  inconsistent  with  the 
convention  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  for  the  protection  of 


B.  S.  66]  LAWS   RELATING   TO    GAME   AND  BIRDS  11 

migratory  birds  concluded  August  16,  1916,  or  the  migratory  bird  treaty  act 
and  do  not  extend  the  open  seasons  for  such  birds  beyond  the  dates  prescribed 
by  these  regulations. 

[Added  by  proclamation  of  October  25,  1918,  as  amended  July  9,  1920.] 


LACEY  ACT,  REGULATING  INTERSTATE  COMMERCE  IN  GAME 

Federal  laws  affecting  the  shipment  of  game  comprise  statutes  regulating 
interstate  commerce  in  game  and  the  importation  of  birds  and  mammals  from 
foreign  countries,  as  follows : 

Criminal  Code — Act  of  March  4,   1909 
[35  Stat.  1137] 

Sec.  241.  The  importation  into  the  United  States,  or  any  Territory  or  District 
thereof,  of  the  mongoose,  the  so-called  "flying  foxes,"  or  fruit  bats,  the  English 
sparrow,  the  starling,  and  such  other  birds  and  animals  as  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  may  from  time  to  time  declare  to  be  injurious  to  the  interests  of 
agriculture  or  horticulture,  is  hereby  prohibited ;  and  all  such  birds  and  ani- 
mals shall,  upon  arrival  at  any  port  of  the  United  States,  be  destroyed  or 
returned  at  the  expense  of  the  owner.  Xo  person  shall  import  into  the  United 
States  or  into  any  Territory  or  District  thereof  any  foreign  wild  animal  or  bird, 
except  under  special  permit  from  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture :  Provided,  That 
nothing  in  this  section  shall  restrict  the  importation  of  natural-history  speci- 
mens for  museums  or  scientific  collections,  or  of  certain  cage  birds,  such  as 
domesticated  canaries,  parrots,  or  such  other  birds  as  the  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture may  designate.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  hereby  authorized  to 
make  regulations  for  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  section. 

Sec.  242.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  to  deliver  to  any  common 
carrier  for  transportation,  or  for  any  common  carrier  to  transport  from  any 
State,  Territory,  or  District  of  the  United  States  to  any  other  State,  Territory, 
or  District  thereof,  any  foreign  animals  or  birds  the  importation  of  which 
is  prohibited,  or  the  dead  bodies  or  parts  thereof  of  any  wild  animals  or  birds,2 
where  such  animals  or  birds  have  been  killed  or  shipped  in  violation  of  the  laws 
of  the  State,  Territory,  or  District  in  which  the  same  were  killed,  or  from 
which  they  were  shipped :  Provided,  That  nothing  herein  shall  prevent  the 
transportation  of  any  dead  birds  or  animals  killed  during  the  season  when  the 
same  may  be  lawfully  captured,  and  the  export  of  which  is  not  prohibited 
by  law  in  the  State,  Territory,  or  District  in  which  the  same  are  captured  or 
killed:  Provided  further,  That  nothing  herein  shall  prevent  the  importation, 
transportation,  or  sale  of  birds  or  bird  plumage  manufactured  from  the  feathers 
of  barnyard  fowls. 

Sec.  243.  All  packages  containing  the  dead  bodies,  or  the  plumage,  or  parts 
thereof,  of  game  animals,  or  game  or  other  wild  birds,  when  shipped  in  inter- 
state or  foreign  commerce,  shall  be  plainly  and  clearly  marked,  so  that  the 
name  and  address  of  the  shipper  and  the  nature  of  the  contents  may  be  readily 
ascertained  on  an  inspection  of  the  outside  of  such  package. 

Sec.  244.  For  each  evasion  or  violation  of  any  provision  of  the  three  sections 
last  preceding,  the  shipper  shall  be  fined  not  more  than  $200 ;  the  consignee 
knowingly  receiving  such  articles  so  shipped  and  transported  in  violation  of 
said  sections  shall  be  fined  not  more  than  $20.0 ;  and  the  carrier  knowingly 
carrying  or  transporting  the  same  in  violation  of  said  sections  shall  be  fined 
not  more  than  $200. 

Sections  1  and  5 — Act  of  May  25,  1900  3 

[31  Stat.  187-188] 

That  the  duties  and  powers  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  are  hereby 
enlarged  so  as  to  include  the  preservation,  distribution,  introduction,  and 
restoration  of  game  birds  and  other  wild  birds.     The  Secretary  of  Agriculture 

2  See  sec.  4  of  the  migratory-bird  treaty  act,  p.  4.  which  supersedes  this  part  of  the 
Lacey  Act  relative  to  the  interstate  transportation  of  wild  birds. 

3  Sees.  2,  3,  and  4  superseded  by  sees.  241-244  of  the  Criminal  Code,  act  of  Mar.  4,  1909 
(35  Stat.  1137). 


12  BUREAU    OF   BIOLOGICAL,  SURVEY  [S.  R.  A. 

is  hereby  authorized  to  adopt  such  measures  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  out 
the  purposes  of  this  act  and  to  purchase  such  game  birds  and  other  wild  birds 
as  may  be  required  therefor,  subject,  however,  to  the  laws  of  the  various 
States  and  Territories.  The  object  and  purpose  of  this  act  is  to  aid  in  the 
restoration  of  such  birds  in  those  parts  of  the  United  States  adapted  thereto 
where  the  same  have  become  scarce  or  extinct,  and  also  to  regulate  the  intro- 
duction of  American  or  foreign  birds  or  animals  in  localities  where  they  have 
not  heretofore  existed. 

The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  shall  from  time  to  time  collect  and  publish 
useful  information  as  to  the  propagation,  uses,  and  preservation  of  such  birds. 

And  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  shall  make  and  publish  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  for  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  this  act,  and  shall  expend 
for  said  purposes  such  sums  as  Congress  may  appropriate  therefor. 

Sec.  5.  That  all  dead  bodies,  or  parts  thereof,  of  any  foreign  game  animals, 
or  game  or  song  birds,  the  importation  of  which  is  prohibited,  or  the  dead 
bodies,  or  parts  thereof,  of  any  wild  game  animals,  or  game  or  song  birds 
transported  into  any  State  or  Territory,  or  remaining  therein  for  use,  consump- 
tion, sale,  or  storage  therein,  shall  upon  arrival  in  such  State  or  Territory  be 
subject  to  the  operation  and  effect  of  the  laws  of  such  State  or  Territory 
enacted  in  the  exercise  of  its  police  powers,  to  the  same  extent  and  in  the  same 
manner  as  though  such  animals  or  birds  had  been  produced  in  such  State  or 
Territory,  and  shall  not  be  exempt  therefrom  by  reason  of  being  introduced 
therein  in  original  packages  or  otherwise.  This  act  shall  not  prevent  the  im- 
portation, transportation,  or  sale  of  birds  or  bird  plumage  manufactured  from 
the  feathers  of  barnyard  fowl. 


LAW  PROTECTING  WILD  ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  AND  THEIR  EGGS 
ON  FEDERAL  REFUGES 

Act  of  March  4,  1909,  as  Amended  April  15,   1924 

[43  Stat.  98] 

Sec.  84.  Whoever  shall  hunt,  trap,  capture,  willfully  disturb,  or  kill  any  bird 
or  wild  animal  of  any  kind  whatever,  or  take  or  destroy  the  eggs  of  any  such 
bird  on  any  lands  of  the  United  States  which  have  been  set  apart  or  reserved 
as  refuges  or  breeding  grounds  for  such  birds  or  animals  by  any  law,  procla- 
mation, or  Executive  order,  except  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture  may,  from  time  to  time,  prescribe,  or  who  shall  will- 
fully injure,  molest,  or  destroy  any  property  of  the  United  States  on  any  such 
lands  shall  be  fined  not  more  than  $500,  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  six 
months,  or  both. 


HUNTING  ON  NATIONAL  FORESTS 

Regulation  T-7,  effective  October  1,  1919,  of  the  Regulations  of  the  Forest 
Service  Relative  to  National  Forests,  provides  as  follows: 

The  following  acts  are  prohibited  on  lands  of  the  United  States  within 
national  forests : 

The  going  or  being  upon  any  such  land,  or  in  or  on  the  waters  thereof,  with 
intent  to  hunt,  catch,  trap,  willfully  disturb,  or  kill  any  kind  of  game  animal, 
game  or  nongame  bird,  or  fish,  or  to  take  the  eggs  of  any  such  bird,  in  violation 
of  the  laws  of  the  State  in  which  such  land  or  waters  are  situated. 

Regulation  G-30  authorizes  all  forest  officers  to  enforce  the  above  regula- 
tion and  also  to  cooperate  with  State  or  Territorial  officials  in  the  enforcement 
of  local  laws  for  the  protection  of  birds,  fish,  and  game. 


B.  S. 


LAWS   RELATING   TO   GAME   AND   BIRDS  13 


PROVISIONS  OF  TARIFF  ACT  REGULATING  IMPORTATION   OF 
PLUMAGE,  GAME,  ETC. 

Act  of  September  21,  1922 
[42  Stat.  915] 

Pab.  1419.  Feathers    and    downs,    on    the    skin    or    otherwise,    crude    or    not 
dressed,    colored,    or    otherwise    advanced    or    manufactured    in    any    manner, 
not  specially  provided  for,   20  per  centum   ad  valorem;    dressed,   colored,   or 
otherwise  advanced  or  manufactured  in  any  manner,  including  quilts  of  down 
and  other  manufactures  of  down;   artificial  or  ornamental  feathers   suitable 
for   use   as   millinery   ornaments,    artificial    or    ornamental    fruits,    vegetables, 
grains,  leaves,  flowers,  and  stems  or  parts  thereof,  of  whatever  material  com- 
posed, not  specially  provided  for,  60  per  centum  ad  valorem;  natural  leaves, 
plants,   shrubs,   herbs,   trees,    and   parts   thereof,   chemically   treated,    colored, 
dyed  or  painted,  not  specially  provided  for,  60  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  boas, 
boutonnieres,  wreaths,   and  all  articles  not  specially  provided  for,   composed 
wholly  or  in  chief  value  of  any  of  the  feathers,  flowers,  leaves,  or  other  mate- 
rial herein  mentioned,   60  per  centum  ad  valorem :   Provided,   That   the  im- 
portation  of   birds   of   paradise,    aigrettes,   egret   plumes   or   so-called   osprey 
plumes,  and  the  feathers,  quills,  heads,  wings,  tails,  skins,  or  parts  of  skins, 
of  wild  birds,  either  raw  or  manufactured,  and  not  for  scientific  or  educational 
purposes,   is   hereby   prohibited;    but   this   provision    shall    not    apply    to    the 
feathers  or  plumes  of  ostriches  or  to  the  feathers  or  plumes  of  domestic  fowls 
of  any  kind:  Provided  further,  That  birds  of  paradise  and  the  feathers,  quills, 
heads,  wrings,  tails,  skins,  or  parts  thereof,  and  all  aigrettes,  egret  plumes,  or 
so-called  osprey  plumes,  and  the  feathers,  quills,  heads,  wings,  tails,  skins,  or 
parts  of  skins,  of  wild  birds,  either  raw  or  manufactured,  of  like  kind  to  those 
the   importation   of   which   is   prohibited  by   the  foregoing   provisions   of   this 
paragraph,  which  may  be  found  in  the  United  States,  on  and  after  the  pas- 
sage of  this  act,  except  as  to  such  plumage  or  parts  of  birds  in  actual  use  for 
personal   adornment,   and   except   such   plumage,   birds,   or   parts   thereof   im- 
ported therein  for  scientific  or  educational  purposes,  shall  be  presumed  for  the 
purpose  of  seizure  to  have  been  imported  unlawfully  after   October  3.   1913, 
and  the  collector  of  customs  shall  seize  the  same  unless  the  possessor  thereof 
shall  establish,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  collector,  that  the  same  were  im- 
ported into  the  United  States  prior  to  October  3,  1913,  or  as  to  such  plumage 
or  parts  of  birds  that  they  were  plucked  or  derived  in  the  United  States  from 
birds    lawfully    therein ;    and   in    case    of   seizure    by    the    collector    he    shall 
proceed  as  in  case  of  forfeiture  for  violation  of  the  custom  laws,  and  the  same 
shall  be  forfeited,  unless  the  claimant  shall  in  any  legal  proceeding  to  enforce 
such  forfeiture,  other  than  a  criminal  prosecution,  overcome  the  presumption  of 
illegal  importation  and  establish  that  the  birds  or  articles  seized,  of  like  kind 
to  those  mentioned  the  importation  of  which  is  prohibited  as  above,  were  im- 
ported into  the  United  States  prior  to  October  3,  1913,  or  were  plucked  in  the 
United  States  from  birds  lawfully  therein. 

That  whenever  birds  or  plumage,  the  importation  of  which  is  prohibited  by 
the  foregoing  provisions  of  this  paragraph,  are  forfeited  to  the  Government, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  hereby  authorized  to  place  the  same  with  the 
departments  or  bureaus  of  the  Federal  or  State  Governments  or  societies  or 
museums  for  exhibition  or  scientific  or  educational  purposes,  but  not  for  sale  or 
personal  use ;  and  in  the  event  of  such  birds  or  plumage  not  being  required 
or  desired  by  either  Federal  or  State  Government  or  for  educational  purposes, 
they  shall  be  destroyed. 

That  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  repeal  the  provisions  of  the 
act  of  March  4,  1913,  chapter  145  (37  Statutes  at  Large,  page  847),  or  the  act 
of  July  3,  1918  (40  Statutes  at  Large,  page  755),  or  any  other  law  of  the 
United  States,  now  of  force,  intended  for  the  protection  or  preservation  of  birds 
within  the  United  States.  That  if  on  investigation  by  the  collector  before 
seizure,  or  before  trial  for  forfeiture,  or  if  at  such  trial  if  such  seizure  has 
been  made,  it  shall  be  made  to  appear  to  the  collector,  or  the  prosecuting  officer 
of  the  Government,  as  the  case  may  be,  that  no  illegal  importation  of  such 
feathers  has  been  made,  but  that  the  possession,  acquisition,  or  purchase  of 
such  feathers  is  or  has  been  made  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of  the  act 
of  March  4,  1913,  chapter  145  (37  Statutes  at  Large,  page  847),  or  the  act  of 
July  3,  1918  (40  Statutes  at  Large,  page  755),  or  any  other  law  of  the  United 


14  BUREAU   OF   BIOLOGICAL  SURVEY  [S.  R.  A. 

States,  now  of  force,  intended  for  the  protection  or  preservation  of  birds  within 
the  United  States,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  collector,  or  such  prosecuting 
officer,  as  the  case  may  be.  to  report  the  facts  to  the  proper  officials  of  the 
United  States,  or  State  or  Territory  charged  with  the  duty  of  enforcing  such 
laws. 

Import  duties  and  provisions  are  as  follows: 

Pab.  704.  A  duty  of  4  cents  per  pound  is  imposed  on  reindeer  meat,  venison, 
and  other  game  (except  birds). 

Par.  711.  The  duty  on  live  birds  (except  poultry)  is  50  cents  each  on  those 
valued  at  $5  or  less,  and  20  per  cent  ad  valorem  on  those  valued  at  more 
than  $5.  [By  proclamation  of  October  3,  1925,  the  President  reduced  the  duty 
on  live  bob  white  quail  valued  at  $5  each  or  less  from  50  to  25  cents.] 

Par.  712.  Dressed  or  undressed  birds  (except  poultry)  are  dutiable  at  8  cents 
per  pound,  but  if  prepared  or  preserved  in  any  manner  the  duty  is  35  per  cent 
ad  valorem.  (Paragraph  1419  prohibits  the  importation  of  the  plumage  of 
wild  birds,  so  that  undressed  game  birds  may  only  be  brought  in  under  a  bond 
for  the  destruction  of  their  plumage.) 

Par.  715.  Live  wild  animals,  15  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Par.  1420.  Silver  or  black  fox  skins,  dressed  or  undressed,  and  manufac- 
tures thereof,  50  per  cent  ad  valorem ;  other  furs  dressed  on  the  skin,  not 
advanced  further  than  dyeing,  25  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Par.  1507.  Wild  animals  and  birds  intended  for  exhibition  in  zoological 
collections  for  scientific  or  educational  purposes,  and  not  for  sale  or  profit, 
are  admitted  free. 

Par.  1569.  The  eggs  of  birds  are  prohibited  from  entry,  except  that  eggs  of 
game  birds  may  be  imported  free  under  regulations  of  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture for  propagating  purposes ;  specimens  may  also  be  imported  free  for  sci- 
entific collections. 

Par.  1579.  Raw  furs  and  fur  skins  (except  silver  or  black  fox  skins),  un- 
dressed, are  admitted  free. 

Par.  1668.  Natural-history  specimens  (including  wild  birds  and  mammals) 
may  be  imported  free  for  scientific  public  collections,  but  not  for  sale. 


CANADIAN  TARIFF  ACT  PROHIBITING  IMPORTATION  OF  PLUMAGE, 
MONGOOSES,  AND  CERTAIN  BIRDS 

The  importation  of  bird  plumage  into  Canada  for  millinery  purposes  is 
prohibited  by  tariff  item  1212  under  Schedule  C  (prohibited  goods),  as  added 
by  section  5  of  the  Canadian  customs  tariff  act  of  1914.  Item  1212  prohibits 
the  entry  of  the  following: 

1212.  Aigrettes,  egret  plumes,  or  so-called  osprey  plumes,  and  the  feathers, 
quills,  heads,  wings,  tails,  skins,  or  parts  of  skins  of  wild  birds  either  raw  or 
manufactured ;  but  this  provision  shall  not  come  into  effect  until  January  1, 
1915.  and  shall  not  apply  to — 

(a)   The  feathers  or  plumes  of  ostriches; 

(o)  The  plumage  of  the  English  pheasant  and  the  Indian  peacock; 

(c)  The  plumage  of  wild  birds  ordinarily  used  as  articles  of  diet: 

(d)  The  plumage  of  birds  imported  alive;  nor  to 

(e)  Specimens  imported  under  regulations  of  the  minister  of  customs  for  any 
natural-history  or  other  museum  or  for  educational  purposes. 

Item  1214  under  Schedule  C  (prohibited  goods),  as  added  by  the  customs 
tariff  act,  effective  May  24,  1922,  prohibits  the  entry  of  the  following : 

1214.  (a)  Common  mongoose  (Herpestes  griseus)  or  mongoose  of  any  kind: 
Cb)   Common  mynah.  Chinese  mynah,  crested  mynah,  or  any  other  species  of 
the  starling  family   (Sturnidae)  ; 

(c)  Java  sparrows,  rice  bird,  nutmeg  finch,  or  other  species  of  the  weaver 
bird  family   (Ploceidae)  : 

(d)  European  chaffinch    (Fringilla  coelebs)  ; 

(e)  Great  titmouse   (Par us  major). 


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